As much as I would like to believe Tage is safe among them, Tage isnotone of them. Dragon or not, by his own avowal, he is nothing like them. He rejected their way of life and they exiled him for it.
Holding my breath, I strain to listen, soon realizing I don’t have to. They’re close. They speak clearly enough for me to hear.
“My, my, Tage, you’re all grown up,” a guttural voice calls outin greeting. “Right fucking beast, you are. A proper onyx. Such a waste of talent.”
Evidently, they’ve turned into their human forms. There’s that at least. They didn’t remain in dragon form and devour Tage in one gulp.
Tage’s voice reaches my ears, strong...dry and unaffected, as though a reunion with these dragons is of no consequence to him even though I know he’s always taken pains to avoid them. “Time has a way of doing that.”
“Time has a way of changing a great many things, but since you’ve never seen fit to come around and return to your pride and take your place as a proper solider among us, I can assume you haven’t changed that much and you’re still the same little twat, too afraid to get your hands dirty with the work that needs to be done.”
I flinch, wondering if the one speaking is Kaldr, the leader of the skelm...the one always referenced in scathing tones.
A beat passes before Tage replies. “I’m still not interested in following you, Kaldr. If that’s what you’re asking.”
And I have my answer. Itisthe infamous brutal leader who kills humans indiscriminately, as though we—they?—are cockroaches in need of elimination. This group of dragons who resents the loss of the old ways, who despises witchkind—me—for cursing them into a weaker mold of themselves. Suddenly, I’m grateful to be hiding at the bottom of a hole. I only wish I could be even farther away.
I only wish TageandI could both be far away.
“Aye. I thought as much.” The voice rings out with casual resignation. As though Tage is no more than a troublesome child who strayed from home and who now holds little interest for these dragons. I hope that is the case. The tension ebbs from my shoulders a bit at this hope. Maybe they will simply move on and—
“As touching as this reunion is, we’re hunting quarry. Maybe you can be of assistance.”
I tense anew. What quarry? Elk perhaps? Battle boars?
“What quarry?” Tage asks.
Yes. What quarry?
“We caught the scent of a witch. Festin here has an excellent nose.” I cover my mouth with both hands to stifle my gasp. “Ever since we had a witch among us a couple years ago, he is very sensitive to their smell. He can sniff out their kind from miles away.”
I glance around wildly, contemplating how I might disguise my scent. Can I use my bare hands to bury myself beneath snow? Would that do the trick?
“And this one is bleeding,” another voice adds—presumably Festin. “I could smell her stink for miles.”
My gaze turns in horror to my arm. The wound has stopped bleeding, but blood saturates the fabric. I cover my mouth, smothering any sound from escaping.
“I haven’t seen a witch,” Tage speaks up. “Maybe your nose is wrong.”
“She is close,” the voice insists with confidence. “I can smell her.”
“You wouldn’t be lying to us, would you, Tage?” Kaldr’s voice is deceptively mild, but an undercurrent of threat hums in the question.
“We can’t trust him,” the one I believe to be Festin hisses.
“Why would I lie about that? I have no reason to protect a witch,” Tage defends.
Footsteps crunch and thud overhead, and I can’t breathe as I wait, straining to hear the next voice. The longer I wait, the sicker I feel, and I push a hand against my stomach to quell the upheaval there.
Suddenly there are several loud thumps and grunts. Thrashing noises. I move forward anxiously, peering up at the hole as I step from the shadows, desperate to know what’s happening. I bite my lip to keep from calling out to Tage.
Voices overlap. Curses fly. More grunts and growls, and I make out Tage’s exclamations under it all...his guttural cries and broken words, threats issued even if he’s in no position to carry them out, not outnumbered as he is.
My heart lodges in my throat, a beating pulse. I look aroundwildly, panicked, desperate to get out of this pit, desperate to help him, to save him.
“You didn’t think we were just going to say hello and let you go on your way, did you?” All mildness has left Kaldr’s voice. “You’re not a child anymore. We assumed you would perish on your own. Really, we are quite shocked you survived. Whatever the case, you’re this now. A threat, and we don’t let threats go. You’re either with us...or against us. Count yourself lucky you got to live this long. It’s more than you deserve.”
They’re going to kill him.
